Mon., 10:09 pm: Olympians say selfies were stopped at White House

April 7, 2014

Some of America's Olympic athletes say they were asked to keep their cellphones in their pockets last week when they visited the White House and met with President Barack Obama.

The White House said that's longstanding practice because taking individual photos with hundreds of people wouldn't be practical, and there are official photographers at such events. But the request to the Olympians drew attention because it came after the selfie Boston Red Sox slugger David "Big Papi" Ortiz took with the president during his team's visit to the White House.

Many criticized that snapshot as a marketing ploy after Samsung, the maker of the phone Ortiz used, used the picture in an advertisement. Ortiz denied taking the picture with the knowledge it would be part of a promotion.

"I was a little bummed," said Nick Goepper, a bronze medalist in slopestyle skiing. "I thought about trying to sneak one, but they were pretty adamant about it. I'm sure if they would've allowed it, there'd be 150 people with selfies with the president right now."

The White House confirmed that the athletes were asked not to take their own photos with Obama. The White House said it has been practice for years for an official White House photographer to take pictures for large groups instead. It insisted there was no outright prohibition of selfies.

In a statement given to the AP tonight, the Red Sox described the guidance they received from White House staff.

"Last week the Red Sox were told, 'Don't worry about taking your phone out because there will be a White House photographer on hand.' They weren't told not to take them out. It was more of a: 'Don't worry, someone will be there to take pictures with the President if he has time.'"